A comparison of cell killing by heat and/or X rays in Chinese hamster V79 cells, Friend erythroleukemia mouse cells, and human thymocyte MOLT-4 cells

The radiation and/or heat sensitivity of Chinese hamster V79 cells, Friend erythroleukemia (FELC) mouse cells, and MOLT-4 human transformed thymocytes were compared. MOLT-4 cells were more radiosensitive (D0 = 0.50 Gy) than FELC (D0 = 0.65 Gy) and V79 cells (D0 = 1.43 Gy). Arrhenius analysis showed that MOLT-4 cells were more heat sensitive than FELC or V79 cells below 42.0 degrees C, but more heat resistant at higher temperatures. In addition, the MOLT-4 cells showed a single-heat inactivation energy between 41.0 and 45.0 degrees C, while FELC and V79 cells both showed a transition in the inactivation energy at about 43.0 and 43.5 degrees C, respectively. These differences may be related to the fact that the upper temperature limit for the development of thermal tolerance during continuous heating was lower for MOLT-4 cells than for FELC or V79 cells. Killing of FELC and V79 cells was dependent on the sequence in which heat and X rays were applied, but the greatest effect was obtained when both treatments were given simultaneously. Recovery occurred when treatments were separated by incubation at 37.0 degrees C. The MOLT-4 cells did not show a sequence dependence for heating and irradiation. Survival of MOLT-4 cells after heating and/or irradiation was compared using trypan blue dye exclusion or colony formation. Both assays showed similar qualitative responses, but survival levels measured by the trypan blue assay were much higher than those determined from the colony-forming assay.     

Thermotolerance and thermal sensitization in a differentiating murine erythroleukemia cell line

• 1.1.|Friend erythroleukemia cells (FELC, a differentiating cell line) were heated at various temperatures and heating sequences. Heat treatments which ranged from 41.0 to 45.0°C and did not cause differentiation in FELC and inhibited the differentiation response to DMSO in FELC.
• 2.2.|Heating resulted in cell killing which increased with temperature and heating time. Protracted low temperature heating (40.0–42.0°C) or incubation at 37°C between two heat treatments at 45.0°C resulted in thermotolerance for both the endpoints of cell killing and differentiation.
• 3.3.|High temperature heating (45.0°C) before heating at 41.0–42.0°C resulted in increased thermal sensitivity to the latter heat treatments. This was observed for both the survival and differentiation endpoints.
• 4.4.|A comparison was made of the thermal sensitivity for the two endpoints of cell killing and differentiation.

     

Hyperthermia in a differentiating murine erythroleukaemia cell line: II. Effect of heat on haem induction by radiation

Friend erythroleukaemia cells (FELC) were induced to a haem-producing state by X-rays. The percentage of haem positive cells was maximum for doses between 10 and 15 Gy. Heat treatment at 42.0 degrees C or 45.0 degrees C during or after irradiation inhibited haem induction whereas heating before irradiation enhanced it. Incubation at 37 degrees C between heating and irradiation resulted in a decline in induction levels, indicating repair of heat damage that interacts with X-ray damage. Incubation at 37 degrees C between irradiation and heating did not result in changed haem induction levels, indicating a lack of repair of radiation damage that could interact with subsequent damage produced by heating.     

Thermal sensitivity and radiosensitization in V79 cells after BrdUrd or IdUrd incorporation

Chinese hamster V79 cells were exposed to 10(-5) moles/liter bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) or iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) for 16 or 29 hr and then tested for thermal sensitivity, radiosensitivity, and sensitivity to the combined treatments of heat and radiation. BrdUrd and IdUrd treatment of cells resulted in enhanced radiosensitivity which increased with exposure time but had little or no effect on thermal sensitivity. For 42.0 degrees C heating, no effect was observed, while for 45.0 degrees C heating, a small decrease in thermal sensitivity occurred for both 16- and 29-hr exposure times, in the combined treatment of heat and radiation, the presence of BrdUrd or IdUrd resulted in about the same thermal enhancement in radiosensitivity. BrdUrd and IdUrd uptake into cellular DNA were measured using high-pressure liquid chromatography and, after a 29-hr exposure to 10(-5) moles/liter of BrdUrd or IdUrd, approximately 40% of the thymidine was substituted.     

Influence of hyperthermia on gamma-ray-induced mutation in V79 cells

Asynchronously growing V79 cells were assayed for mutation induction following exposure to hyperthermia either immediately before or after being irradiated with 60Co gamma rays. Hyperthermia exposures consisted of either 43.5 degrees C for 30 min or 45 degrees C for 10 min. Each of these heat treatments resulted in a survival level of 42%. For all sequences of combined treatment with hyperthermia and radiation, cell killing by gamma rays was enhanced. Mutation induction by gamma rays was enhanced when heat preceded gamma irradiation, but no increase was observed when heat was given after gamma exposures. Treatment at 45 degrees C for 10 min gave a higher yield in mutants at all gamma doses studied compared to treatment at 43.5 degrees C for 30 min. When heat-treated cells were incubated for different periods before being exposed to gamma rays, thermal enhancement of radiation killing was lost after 24 h. In contrast, only 5-6 h incubation was needed for loss of mutation induction enhancement.     

The major inducible heat shock protein hsp68 is not required for acquisition of thermal resistance in mouse plasmacytoma cell lines.

In mouse cells, the major inducible heat shock protein is a protein of 68,000 daltons (hsp68). We have previously shown that mouse plasmacytomas do not express hsp68. We have now made use of these natural mutants to assess the contribution of hsp68 to acquired thermotolerance. An endpoint limiting dilution assay was used to quantify cell survival to lethal stresses. Two test plasmacytoma cell lines (C1.18.1 and J558) and an hsp68-positive myeloma, XC1.1/51, used as a control, were examined. All showed recovery when pretreated for 10 min at 44 degrees C 2 h before exposure to otherwise lethal stresses of 1 to 4 h at 43 degrees C. Similar results were obtained with the Friend erythroleukemia line D1B, which we have also shown not to express hsp68. These results indicate that hsp68 is not required for protection against thermal stresses in mouse cells.     

Hyperthermic killing and hyperthermic radiosensitization in Chinese hamster ovary cells: effects of pH and thermal tolerance

To quantitatively relate heat killing and heat radiosensitization, asynchronous or G1 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells at pH 7.1 or 6.75 were heated and/or X-irradiated 10 min later. Since no progression of G1 cells into S phase occurred during the heat and radiation treatments, cell cycle artifacts were minimized. However, results obtained for asynchronous and G1 cells were similar. Hyperthermic radiosensitization was expressed as the thermal enhancement factor (TEF), defined as the ratio of the D0 of the radiation survival curve to that of the D0 of the radiation survival curve for heat plus radiation. The TEF increased continuously with increased heat killing at 45.5 degrees C, and for a given amount of heat killing, the amount of heat radiosensitization was the same for both pH's. When cells were heated chronically at 42.4 degrees C at pH 7.4, the TEF increased initially to 2.0-2.5 and then returned to near 1.0 during continued heating as thermal tolerance developed for both heat killing and heat radiosensitization. However, the shoulder (Dq) of the radiation survival curve for heat plus radiation did not manifest thermal tolerance; i.e., it decreased continuously with increased heat killing, independent of temperature, pH, or the development of thermotolerance. These results suggest that heat killing and heat radiosensitization have a target(s) in common (TEF results), along with either a different target(s) or a difference in the manifestation of heat damage (Dq results). For clinical considerations, the interaction between heat and radiation was expressed as (1) the thermal enhancement ratio (TER), which is the dose of X rays alone divided by the dose of X rays combined with heat to obtain an isosurvival, e.g., 10(-4), and (2) the thermal gain factor (TGF), the ratio of the TER at pH 6.75 to the TER at pH 7.4. Since low pH reduced the rate of development of thermal tolerance during heating at low temperatures, low pH enhanced heat killing more at 42-42.5 degrees C than at 45.5 degrees C where thermal tolerance did not develop. Therefore, the increase in the TGF after chronic heating at 42-42.5 degrees C was greater than after acute heating at 45.5 degrees C, due primarily to the increase in heat killing causing an even greater increase in heat radiosensitization. These findings agree with animal experiments suggesting that in the clinic, a therapeutic gain for tumor cells at low pH may be greater for temperatures of 42-42.5 degrees C than of 45.5 degrees C.     

Factors influencing survival and growth of mammalian cells exposed to hypothermia. I. Effects of temperature and membrane lipid perturbers

The Arrhenius plot of the rate of V79 Chinese hamster cell inactivation due to hypothermia has a "break" around 7-10 degrees C with optimum storage temperature for unprotected cells being about 10 degrees C. Addition of the membrane lipid perturber, butylated hydroxytoluene, improves survival of cells when compared to controls at temperatures below this break but not above. Arrhenius plots of growth rates of the cells show breaks at 30 and 40 degrees C. Measurements of membrane fluidity by electron spin resonance or membrane polarization anisotropy by fluorescence spectrophotometry techniques as a function of temperature in these cells also reveal "breaks" centered around 8 and 30 degrees C. Hence, the changes in the rate of cell inactivation and growth as a function of temperature may be related to membrane lipid phase changes.     

Inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase enhance the cytotoxicity of 42 degrees C and 45 degrees C hyperthermia in cultured Chinese hamster cells

Two inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase, 5-methylnicotinamide and m-methoxybenzamide, enhanced the cytotoxicity of 42 degrees C and 45 degrees C hyperthermia in cultured Chinese hamster V79 cells. The inhibitors showed minimal toxicity for cells treated at 37 degrees C, and did not appreciably alter cellular ATP levels under any of the experimental conditions used. Enhanced cell killing occurred when the inhibitors were added after an acute (5-10 min) 45 degrees C heat shock, and after 50 and 100 min exposures to 42 degrees C. When present during heating at 42 degrees C, the inhibitors reduced the shoulder of the 42 degrees C survival curves but did not appreciably affect the slopes. The results suggest a possible role for poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase in the survival response of V79 cells to hyperthermia.     

Effects of freezing on the hyperthermic survival of tissue culture cells

The survival rate of V79 Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts treated with heat and freezing was investigated. The hyperthermic behavior of these cells was similar to other reports; Thermotolerance was observed below 43 degrees C during continuous heating. There was no difference in survival rate whether the cells were heated while attached to tissue culture flasks or in suspension, although the pH of the medium during the latter situation could be around 8.2 during hyperthermic treatment. If the cells were frozen and thawed before heating, the pattern of survival did not change significantly from that of heating alone, and thermotolerance was still observed below 43 degrees C. The Arrhinius plot of heat sensitivities between 41 and 45 degrees C demonstrated a straight line, giving an activation energy of 171 kcal/mole. A break on the plot around 42.5 degrees C could not be located, probably due to the lack of experimental points. If the cells were frozen and thawed immediately after heating, the survival rate was lower than that expected from considering hyperthermia and freezing as two independent processes. Possible explanations are provided in the result and discussion section.     

Heterogeneity in radiosensitization by heat of cloned cell lines derived from a single human melanoma xenograft

Heterogeneity in radiosensitization by heat was studied using one uncloned and five cloned cell lines isolated from a single tumour of a human melanoma xenograft. Cells from passages 7-12 in vitro were given heat treatments of 42.5 degrees C (45 min), 43.5 degrees C (45 min) or 44.5 degrees C (45 min) immediately after exposure to graded doses of radiation. The survival curves after irradiation alone had similar D0 values but differed in the size of the shoulder. The heterogeneity in heat radiosensitization was reflected in differences in decrease of the D0 values. The thermal enhancement ratios, calculated from the D0 values, were in the ranges 1.2 +/- 0.2-1.7 +/- 0.2 (42.5 degrees C), 1.4 +/- 0.3-2.4 +/- 0.4 (43.5 degrees C) and 2.3 +/- 0.4-3.4 +/- 0.4 (44.5 degrees C). Moreover, at 43.5 degrees C the heterogeneity was also reflected in different modifications of the shape of the survival curves. Two lines showed survival curves with a significant shoulder and a relatively low D0 value whereas two other lines had lost the shoulder almost completely but showed relatively high D0 values. All lines showed survival curves with a broad shoulder after heating at 42.5 degrees C, whereas none of the lines showed survival curves with a significant shoulder after heating at 44.5 degrees C.     

Thermal enhancement of the radiation damage in the mouse foot at different heat and radiation dose: influence of thermotolerance

We studied the reaction of the mouse foot after combined X-irradiation and heat treatment. Acute reactions after heat differ from those after irradiation, however, after healing of the lesions, the same symptoms of deformity of the mouse foot remain. Prior heat treatment, 30 min at 43 degrees C, of the foot led to thermotolerance and this thermotolerance resulted in resistance to combined irradiation-heat treatments and hence to a decreased thermal enhancement of radiation effects. Resistance could be observed up to 168 h after prior heat treatment. The development of resistance to combined treatment at higher irradiation dose (15 or 20 Gy) and less severe heating was slower than at lower irradiation dose (10 Gy) and more severe heating. Thermal enhancement was confirmed to be dependent on the sequence of, and the interval between irradiation and heat treatment. When the mouse foot was made thermotolerant by prior heat treatment, thermal enhancement was always reduced, regardless of the sequence, when the combined heat and radiation treatments were given with an interval of less than 12 h. Thermotolerance led to an apparent decrease in the effective temperature employed in a combined treatment equivalent to approximately 1.0 degrees C, at temperatures above 43 degrees C in a 1 h heat treatment.     

Effect of aphidicolin on Friend erythroleukemia cell maturation

Aphidicolin, a specific and reversible inhibitor of DNA polymerase alpha, was examined as a potential tool to evaluate the relationship between proliferative and differentiative events in Friend erythroleukemia cell (FELC) maturation. Since FELC can be induced to differentiate along the erythrocytic pathway with a variety of inducing agents, the effects of aphidicolin were tested on proliferating FELC and cells which were induced to differentiate with the potent inducer, hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA). Exposure of FELC to aphidicolin resulted in unbalanced growth within 24 h, as reflected by abnormally large cells, compared with untreated cells. In the presence of 10 or 50 microM aphidicolin, 75-90% of cells became differentiated (benzidine+ cells) within 48 h, although by 72 h cells treated with aphidicolin were non-viable as determined by trypan blue staining. A wider range of aphidicolin concentrations was tested in an effort to determine the optimal concentration of aphidicolin that maximally induced differentiation with minimal loss of cell viability. Continuous exposure of FELC from 24-96 h with doses of aphidicolin ranging from 0.5 to 50 microM was more effective for differentiation induction than was short-term exposure (1, 2, 4, 12 h) to the drug, although 1 h of exposure significantly (p less than 0.01) increased differentiation (28.1 +/- 7.8%) compared with untreated cells (2.7 +/- 1.0%). When cells were treated with HMBA (5 mM) and aphidicolin (1, 5, 10 microM), in combination, aphidicolin shifted the time of onset of differentiation from 72 to 48 h, but did not act synergistically or additively with HMBA; nor was the induction effect of aphidicolin changed by HMBA. In contrast, suboptimal doses of aphidicolin (0.5 microM) in combination with HMBA (2.5 mM) produced an additive effect on FELC differentiation. In addition, [3H]thymidine experiments demonstrated that aphidicolin reversibly blocked FELC in S phase and at G1-S interface of the cell cycle. These results indicate that aphidicolin can induce the differentiation of FELC, and that a complete round of replicative DNA synthesis is not required for differentiation to occur.     

Growth suppression of Friend virus-transformed erythroleukemia cells by p53 protein is accompanied by hemoglobin production and is sensitive to erythropoietin.

The murine allele temperature-sensitive (ts) p53Val-135 encodes a ts p53 protein that behaves as a mutant polypeptide at 37 degrees C and as a wild-type polypeptide at 32 degrees C. This ts allele was introduced into the p53 nonproducer Friend erythroleukemia cell line DP16-1. The DP16-1 cell line was derived from the spleen cells of a mouse infected with the polycythemia strain of Friend virus, and like other erythroleukemia cell lines transformed by this virus, it grows independently of erythropoietin, likely because of expression of the viral gp55 protein which binds to and activates the erythropoietin receptor. When incubated at 32 degrees C, DP16-1 cells expressing ts p53Val-135 protein, arrested in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, rapidly lost viability and expressed hemoglobin, a marker of erythroid differentiation. Erythropoietin had a striking effect on p53Val-135-expressing cells at 32 degrees C by prolonging their survival and diminishing the extent of hemoglobin production. This response to erythropoietin was not accompanied by down-regulation of viral gp55 protein.     

Superoxide dismutase induces differentiation of Friend erythroleukemia cells

Friend erythroleukemia cells (FELC) served as a model system for cell differentiation because these cells can be triggered to differentiate by a variety of chemical agents. Treatment with the classical inducer of differentiation, hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA), stimulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, which increased in parallel with HMBA-induced differentiation. Furthermore, FELC were shown to differentiate in response to the addition of liposomes containing SOD. Oxidative treatment with liposomes containing D-amino acid oxidase or xanthine oxidase, cumene peroxide, or potassium superoxide also induced differentiation, whereas antioxidants such as alpha-tocopherol, butylated hydroxytoluene, or beta-carotene did not induce differentiation. Also, HMBA induction of differentiation was suppressed by treatment with antioxidants.     

Sensitization of Clostridium perfringens spores to heat by gamma radiation.

Spores of Clostridium perfringens, type A, were given separate or sequential treatments of gamma radiation (0 to 0.7 Mrad) and/or high temperature (93 to 103 degrees C). Prior heating, sufficient to inactivate 40 to 99% of the viable spores, had no effect on the subsequent radiation inactivation rate. Prior irradiation had a sensitizing effect on subsequently heated spores. The degree of sensitization to heat, as measured by thermal inactivation rate, increased with increased radiation pretreatment dose.     

Sensitization of Clostridium perfringens spores to heat by gamma radiation.

Spores of Clostridium perfringens, type A, were given separate or sequential treatments of gamma radiation (0 to 0.7 Mrad) and/or high temperature (93 to 103 degrees C). Prior heating, sufficient to inactivate 40 to 99% of the viable spores, had no effect on the subsequent radiation inactivation rate. Prior irradiation had a sensitizing effect on subsequently heated spores. The degree of sensitization to heat, as measured by thermal inactivation rate, increased with increased radiation pretreatment dose.     

Thermal radiosensitization and thermotolerance in cultured cells from a murine mammary carcinoma

Cultured murine mammary carcinoma cells M8013 could be made thermotolerant by a priming heat treatment, 30 min at 43 degrees C, applied 5 h prior to subsequent heat treatment. The sensitivity of non-tolerant and thermotolerant cells to either radiation or heat combined with radiation was investigated. Analysis of survival curves with respect to D0 and N showed that thermotolerance had no influence on the radiation sensitivity of the cells. Thermal enhancement of radiation effects (in combined heat/irradiation treatments) was however reduced as a result of thermotolerance. When thermal enhancement ratios were (D0) plotted as a function of the cell killing effects of heat treatment alone, thermotolerance did not seem to have any influence. This latter observation suggests that thermotolerance modifies the effectiveness of the heat treatment for heat-induced cell lethality and radiosensitization equally. Comparison of our in vitro results with several in vivo data on normal tissues suggest that the reduction in 'effective' treatment temperature which has been observed in the in vivo studies as a result of thermotolerance may be explained by equal modification of the effects of heat by thermotolerance both for its direct effects and the radiosensitization.     

Potentially lethal radiation damage repair and its inhibition by hyperthermia in normal hamster cells, mouse cells, and transformed mouse cells

The capacity of plateau-phase Chinese hamster V79 and normal and transformed C3H-10T1/2 cells for repair of potentially lethal radiation damage (PLD) was evaluated for cells irradiated alone or given combined treatments of heat and radiation. The data show that all cell lines tested could repair PLD and that transformation to the tumorigenic state may reduce the capacity to repair PLD, especially if cells are evaluated at equal survival levels. Hyperthermia treatments before irradiation produced less sensitization than treatments after irradiation. In addition, hyperthermia treatment led to the inhibition of cellular capacity to repair PLD. This effect was the greatest for cells heated after irradiation, and repair of PLD could be completely eliminated. Several temperature isodose heat treatments were evaluated, and the lower temperature heat treatments were more effective in the inhibition of PLD than the higher temperature heat treatments; this is consistent with earlier results indicating temperature dependence in thermal radiosensitization (S. A. Sapareto et al., Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 5, 343-347 (1979)).